Meadow

There were more stars than she remembered seeing, having spent so many years beneath the dense canopy of the Atlantean jungle. Without their perpetual cloaking, the sky above was expansive and she felt small beneath the moon's piercing light, as if that celestial body were looking down at her and judging her for her faults.

A small dusting of snow covered the Crossing around, collecting in the dips and hollows of the Meadow grasses. It reminded her of her childhood home, which made her smile, though her heart ached at the thought of the Cove and of how many years had passed since she had last returned there. Word had reached Atlantis some time ago of her parent's passing and she still was not quite over it. The grief snuck up on her sometimes late at night, stealing away her breath when she least expected it.

She shivered in the cold, no longer as used to it as she had been as a girl, her fine coat no protection against the chill. Shiloh knew she should be sleeping, that she would find no one worth finding in the dead of night, but her mind was still uneasy, still preoccupied with replaying Nahawi's dismissal. It had likely not been intended as such, as Shi doubted that the kind-hearted red dun wanted to hurt her at all, but the mean voice in her head had grown ever louder since she'd left the Shore.

The feeling of not being good enough, of having let him down, of not being worth the effort clouded her thoughts. She believed it was her own shortcomings that had led her to this moment, especially her inability to let go of Temblor when offered opportunities with Romaro and Nahawi. Perhaps if she were less picky about a partner, more willing to accept that romance didn't have to be a part of her life, perhaps then she might finally find some mote of happiness.

The tobiano mare sighed, her dark tail flicking against her hocks as she walked aimlessly, her gaze far away as she ambled slowly down the path, lit only by the moonlight above.